Improvement and Sensitivity Analysis of Thermal Thin-Ice Thickness Retrievals

Considering the sea ice decline in the Arctic during the last decades, polynyas are of high research interest since these features are core areas of new ice formation. The determination of ice formation requires accurate retrieval of polynya area and thin-ice thickness (TIT) distribution within the polynya. We use an established energy balance model to derive TITs with MODIS ice surface temperatures $(T_{s})$ and NCEP/DOE Reanalysis II in the Laptev Sea for two winter seasons. Improvements of the algorithm mainly concern the implementation of an iterative approach to calculate the atmospheric flux components taking the atmospheric stratification into account. Furthermore, a sensitivity study is performed to analyze the errors of the ice thickness. The results are the following: 1) 2-m air temperatures $(T_{a})$ and $T_{s}$ have the highest impact on the retrieved ice thickness; 2) an overestimation of $T_{a}$ yields smaller ice thickness errors as an underestimation of $T_{a}$; 3) NCEP $T_{a}$ shows often a warm bias; and 4) the mean absolute error for ice thicknesses up to 20 cm is $pm$4.7 cm. Based on these results, we conclude that, despite the shortcomings of the NCEP data (coarse spatial resolution and no polynyas), this data set is appropriate in combination with MODIS $T_{s}$ for the retrieval of TITs up to 20 cm in the Laptev Sea region. The TIT algorithm can be applied to other polynya regions and to past and future time periods. Our TIT product is a valuable data set for verification of other model and remote sensing ice thickness data

Simulations with the sea ice model CICE documenting the impact of improved sea ice physics

Sea ice thickness data (CryoSat-2) have been used to identify and correct shortcomings in simulating winter ice growth in the widely used sea ice model CICE. Here, we provide the data from CICE simulations documenting the impact of improved sea ice physics and the sensitivity to forcing and initial data. Adding a model of snow drift and using a different scheme for calculating the ice conductivity improve model results. Sensitivity studies demonstrate that atmospheric winter conditions have little impact on winter ice growth, and the fate of Arctic summer sea ice is largely controlled by atmospheric conditions during the melting season. A full description of the data processing and uncertainties is given by Schröder et al. (2018), 'New insight from CryoSat-2 sea ice thickness for sea ice modelling', in The Cryosphere. All simulations are listed in Tables 1 to 3 of this paper

Collaborative Research in e-Science and Open Access to Information

This contribution examines various aspects of “openness” in research, and seeks to gauge the degree to which contemporary “e-science” practices are congruent with “open science.” Norms and practices of openness are vital for the work of modern scientific communities, but concerns about the growth of stronger technical and institutional restraints on access to research tools, data, and information recently have attracted notice—in part because of their implications for the effective utilization of advanced digital infrastructures and information technologies in research collaborations. Our discussion clarifies the conceptual differences between e-science and open science, and reports findings from a preliminary look at practices in U.K. e-science projects. Both parts serve to emphasize that it is unwarranted to presume that the development of e-science necessarily promotes global open science collaboration. Since there is evident need for further empirical research to establish where, when, and to what extent “openness” in scientific and engineering research may be expected to advance hand-in-hand, we outline a framework within which such a program of studies might be undertaken.e-Science, Open Science, Engineering Reserach

Will e-Science Be Open Science?

This contribution examines various aspects of “openness” in research, and seeks to gauge the degree to which contemporary “e-science” practices are congruent with “open science.” Norms and practices of openness are vital for the work of modern scientific communities, but concerns about the growth of stronger technical and institutional restraints on access to research tools, data, and information recently have attracted notice—in part because of their implications for the effective utilization of advanced digital infrastructures and information technologies in research collaborations. Our discussion clarifies the conceptual differences between e-science and open science, and reports findings from a preliminary look at practices in U.K. e-science projects. Both parts serve to emphasize that it is unwarranted to presume that the development of e-science necessarily promotes global open science collaboration. Since there is evident need for further empirical research to establish where, when, and to the extent “openness” and "e-ness" in scientific and engineering research may be expected to advance hand-in-hand, we outline a framework within which such a program of studies might be undertaken.e-Science, Open Science, Engineering Reserach

Regional gray matter correlates of vocational interests.

BackgroundPrevious studies have identified brain areas related to cognitive abilities and personality, respectively. In this exploratory study, we extend the application of modern neuroimaging techniques to another area of individual differences, vocational interests, and relate the results to an earlier study of cognitive abilities salient for vocations.FindingsFirst, we examined the psychometric relationships between vocational interests and abilities in a large sample. The primary relationships between those domains were between Investigative (scientific) interests and general intelligence and between Realistic ("blue-collar") interests and spatial ability. Then, using MRI and voxel-based morphometry, we investigated the relationships between regional gray matter volume and vocational interests. Specific clusters of gray matter were found to be correlated with Investigative and Realistic interests. Overlap analyses indicated some common brain areas between the correlates of Investigative interests and general intelligence and between the correlates of Realistic interests and spatial ability.ConclusionsTwo of six vocational-interest scales show substantial relationships with regional gray matter volume. The overlap between the brain correlates of these scales and cognitive-ability factors suggest there are relationships between individual differences in brain structure and vocations

DNA and Homicide Clearance: What\u27s Really Going On

Homicide clearance rates in the United States have been dropping steadily since the late 1960s. The literature on homicide clearance has yet to explore exactly what effect DNA evidence is having on the homicide investigation. As such, the increased use of DNA as an investigative tool to raise homicide clearance is hardly axiomatic. The current study examined homicides committed in Manhattan, New York, within the years 1996 to 2003 for the use of DNA evidence in making an arrest. An analysis was also conducted with an eye toward how useful DNA evidence could be—indicating that, via its current usage, the creation of large DNA databases of known criminal offenders will, at best, only marginally increase the homicide clearance rate. Further, the implications of the use of DNA may point to a larger phenomenon which may have contributed to the drop in clearance experienced nationwide

Hierarchy and CIS-Regulation in Drosophila Segmentation: Rules for Pattern Formation and Clues to Evolution

In few systems is it possible to analyze the global cis-regulatory structure of developmental transcription networks. One system where this is in principle possible is segmentation in Drosophila melanogaster, although to date such an undertaking has not been attempted. Here using computational algorithms to analyze the transcriptional regulatory regions of genes of the gap and pair rule classes such an analysis is carried out. Computational analysis, transgenic reporter element assays, site directed mutagenesis, genetics, and time courses of in situ hybridizations of central genes in carefully staged embryos are combined to understand how the cis-elements function together to achieve patterning of the anterior posterior axis. The transition from the non-periodic gap patterns to the seven striped periodic patterns of the pair rule genes is analyzed in detail. This step in the genetic hierarchy is of particular interest as it generates the segmental pattern that underlies the Drosophila body plan. The analysis clarifies the primary and secondary pair rule classification system and suggests certain organizational principles in pair rule cis-regulation

Personality correlates of creativity

The purpose of the present study is twofold: (1) to investigate the extent to which changing criteria of creativity influences the selection of subjects with different personality characteristics; and (2) to determine if the selection of different subjects by different criteria of creativity also extends to the different scoring methods which can be applied to the same test of creativity. The specific hypothesis to be tested in this study are: (1) There will be low or non-significant correlations both between the two specific tests of creativity and between the various methods of scoring each test.; (2) The subjects selected by the various methods will exhibit different personality patterns as demonstrated by their composite need profiles on the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule